1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a unitary furniture element which is convertible to form multiple furniture configurations.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the field of convertible furniture design, a great many designs have evolved for furniture modules and unitary furniture elements which by specific translational and rotational movements of their segments or parts relative to one another are able to form multiple furniture configurations and/or compacted configurations for transportation and storage of the furniture unit. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,549,289 and 2,589,579, U.S. Design Pat. No. 142,685, and Belgian Pat. No. 669,460 all disclose mattresses or cushion members having square or rectangular segments hingedly joined together, with the respective segments being foldable to form a compact stacked array for transportation, storage, or use as an additional furniture configuration, e.g., a hassock or seat. In addition, the cushion member disclosed in the last-mentioned Belgian Pat. No. 669,460 is segmented, with its respective segments being hingedly joined together so that the cushion member is modifiable into a single-backed or double-backed seat arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,759 discloses a convertible easy chair structure formed by an array of upholstered cushion members, each of parallelepiped configuration. Adjacent cushion members in the array are connected by their coverings. By unfolding the easy chair structure to fully longitudinally extend the cushion member array, a furniture configuration is formed which is utilizable as a bed or couch. The same cushion member array, when only partially longitudinally extended, can be folded to form a lounge chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,658 discloses a fold-open convertible furniture unit which converts from a folded-closed couch or chair configuration to a folded-open bed or ottoman. In the folded-closed couch configuration, the furniture unit has a semi-circular seat body surrounded by a semi-circular side portion circumferentially coextensive with the seat body. The side portion is hingedly joined at its extremeties with an arcuate back portion which, when folded closed, congruently and coextensively abuts the side portion. The furniture unit also comprises two hassock or seat bodies in the form of sectors, each having a 90.degree. arc length, which mate with each other and with the aforementioned semi-circular seat body to form an integral body of circular shape. In the conversion to the bed or ottoman, the arcuate back portion of the couch or chair configuration is folded open to enclose the mated sectorial bodies. By such rearrangement a unit of furniture is formed which, being flat on its upper surface and circular in shape in plan view, may then be suitably utilized as a bed or ottoman. A similar furniture unit is shown in U.S. Design Pat. No. 242,304.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 252,487 discloses a convertible sofa-bed, in the sofa configuration of which upstanding back and side arm portions enclose a two-layer cushion assembly. The respective layers of such cushion assembly are hingedly joined to one another along their front surfaces, whereby conversion of the sofa to a bed may be effected by pivotally unfolding the top cushion layer so as to longitudinally extend the cushion assembly. By this rearrangement, the surfaces of the respective cushion layers which previously abutted one another in the couch configuration form a continuous horizontal mattress surface for the bed configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,759 discloses a furniture unit convertible from an easy chair to a couch. In the chair configuration, cushion segments constituting a seat part and a back are folded against a base and backrest cushion segments, respectively. The various cushion segments are connected together in sequence by cloth hinges. To convert the easy chair configuration to a couch, the portion of the cushion member comprising the seat part and back segments is pivotally unfolded away from the base and backrest segments. The backrest, in turn, is pivotally unfolded from the base, so that when fully unfolded the respective cushion members are generally horizontally aligned to provide an upper surface suitable for sitting or reclining.
Although the above-discussed convertible furniture provides a number of distinct furniture configurations and is generally readily convertible from existing use to storage and/or other furniture configurations, there is still a need for a furniture element which is highly compact, which is storable in the room in which the furniture configurations of the element are deployed, and which is highly versatile, i.e., modifiable to form an extensive number of distinct furniture configurations.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a unitary furniture element which is highly compact in character, which is able to be stored aesthetically in the room in which the various furniture configurations of the element are employed and utilized as a furniture element in such "stored" form, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which is highly versatile with respect to the number of distinct furniture configurations that may be formed from the element.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the ensuing disclosure and appended claims.